College Views: Don't allow shyness to silence you

10:46 PM,
Nov. 23, 2012

Written by

Sharon Rhodes
For the Poughkeepsie Journal

I've always been a shy person. I used to blame this on the fact that I'm a twin; growing up I experienced every situation with my brother: swim lessons at 3, the kindergarten bus at 5, learning to parallel park at 16. For the first 18 years of our lives, we were virtually inseparable. All of that changed when we chose to attend different colleges.

Being the oldest by a mere minute, I always took charge, often speaking for the both of us. But when I got to my Creative Writing Workshop last semester, I was surprised when I suddenly struggled to speak up for only myself. Class participation was a large ...